St. Patrick and Table Tennis!

Today we prepped the hall (which involved playing with the fancy settings on a keyboard) then went to Downpatrick, the little town of St. Patrick. We visited the Down Cathedral, which is a very beautiful church that also has the grave of St. Patrick.

 

If you're like me, you kind of associate St. Patrick with shamrocks even though you know that can't be the real story, and it's not. We visited St. Patrick's grave before going to the St. Patrick Center, a kind of museum devoted entirely to St. Patrick. After all that, we learned quite a bit about the man.

 

Admittedly, I don't remember a lot of it. My headache of the week was really bad today and my stomach was uspet due to nerves, so I didn't really absorb information. But basically, St. Patrick was kidnapped as a child and made a slave. He escaped six years later and returned to his native land, Britain. But after lots of prayer, he determined that God wanted him to go back to Ireland to spread the gospel.

 

From what I heard in the exhibit, the problem with St. Patrick is that no one really knows the real story. Lots of legends and stories have been assigned to him without any real proof. Nevertheless, it was all very interesting.

 

The club that night went well. We were sharing the Gospel in the story, and at the end one little boy talked to Brianna and accepted Christ! But we think his mom may not be too pleased about it, so we're all praying that we see him again tomorrow.

 

With the teens we had a table-tennis tournament! I quickly was released after losing to Kenny 12-10. We were both pretty evenly matched in our not-so-greatness. We weren't able to finish the tournament due to time, but the three people left in the running were Mark, Heather, and Rachel (I think).

 

While we had a snack, I shared my testimony. I had been worried about this all week, and I appreciate prayers for my words. I did get through it, and I hope God used my words and my story.

 

The teens do seem to finally be opening up a little. I choreographed a quick dance on Katie and Matthew (his real name's Nat) that he's excited to perform for our little talent show we're having tomorrow (we might be having tomorrow). I had to leave early because Elise is worried about my health, but the other girls walked home with a few of the other teens and now we're all getting connected through Facebook (yay for modern technology!).

 

Tomorrow we're going to try to visit Carrickfergus castle, but Kenny mentioned that it might be closed due to filming of Game Of Thrones...? Margaret said she'll pull the American card if it's true, so we might be able to visit it... while they're filming. And then tomorrow night is the last Holiday Club, complete with hot dogs and ballet dancing and parent-inviting. And then we might be having that talent show with the teens...

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Elise is almost all the way back to health, but Libby and I are still sick. Please pray for that little boy who asked Jesus into his heart, and for all the teens here. Please continue praying for Ballygawley and Kilmore in general. Pray for the kids and the parents who will be here tomorrow. Thank you for all your support so far!

Kilmore Round Two

We did a lot of prep-work in the hall this morning before heading to a small primary school for their assembly. We danced and Katie shared her testimony, and then we invited all of them to come to Holiday Bible Club. A lot of them we recognized, and it made me strangely cheerful when one of the boys shouted excitedly across a parking lot, "Dexter!! DEXTER!! HELLO!!!" After we'd shared, they practiced one of their own songs, which was adorable.

 

We went to Newcastle for the afternoon, a tourist town by a beach. It was nice, but I was feeling very sick and so I didn't enjoy it at all, and probably exuded a gloomy atmosphere to the rest of the team. But we got ice cream and a few people bought a few souvenirs. We then headed back for dinner and then the club.

 

We were better prepared this time. We're still not perfect, but we're getting a little better. Our roll/registration sheet is getting revamped, we reorganized our groups, added another workspace, and got a few extra helpers.

 

Tonight we had 35 kids, so less than last night... but we anticipated this, partly because several boys said they had football practice tonight. Hopefully they'll be back tomorrow. But we also got new children tonight, so hopefully they'll be back tomorrow too.

 

We had time with the teens afterward. We played a few fun, silly games like Down By The Banks and Questions and attempted Bunny Bunny, but that failed. Then Katie and Libby introduced the Walrus game. I didn't actually participate, but I happily videoed a showdown between Katie and Libby. This game was a big hit. Louise was crying the whole time because she was laughing so hard.

 

We're starting to get names down. Except for Matthew... Matthew isn't his real name. Katie mistakenly thought it was, so now everyone just calls him Matthew (his real name is Nate).

 

But we had a lot of good craic with the teens tonight, and everyone's a little less awkward. Katie shared her testimony, and the Walrus game really tears down awkward walls strangers build up.

 

Tomorrow half of the team goes back to Belfast for the Titanic Museum, but Elise, Katie, and I will stay home and get some rest. The three of us have been before anyway, and we need a quiet afternoon. Then it'll be Holiday Club and Youth Time again that night!

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Health for everyone. Elise is on the mend, but it's still rough sometimes. Libby's recovering from her cold. I've got a constant headache. Also pray for the kids and teens, that they would come back. Pray that God fills us with his love and strength until we overflow. Pray that he will give us strength to go on when we're worn out and unable to do so alone. Please pray for the church of Kilmore as a whole, and continue praying for the people in Ballygawley and the dance ministry.

Hospital

Any plans that were made to happen today kind of went out the window as we discovered that Elise, our team leader, had gone to the hospital earlier this morning. She'd woken up with severe abdominal pains and her host family had called an ambulance. Katie and I had no idea what to do, but we eventually got in touch with the Nick Cooper, the minister at Ballygawley, and got some details.

 

They still didn't know what was wrong, but in the meantime, we were to stick to the original plan. So Katie and I joined Brianna and Libby at the Coote's house, where we just kind of chilled all day and waited to hear more about Elise.

 

It wasn't too long until we found out that it was a kidney stone. But they said it's not too big, so it should pass by itself and Elise was free to go. So we're now in Kilmore (near Ballynahinch), but Elise is still not at full hit points. Hopefully she'll be back on her feet in a few days, otherwise we'll all be a little lost.

 

In Kilmore, we're all staying together in a guest cottage. It's pretty amazing. We'll try to get some pictures soon.

 

Tomorrow we will be participating in Kilmore's morning church service with dancing, speaking, and prayer, then we might take a little ramble along the countryside before the evening service.

I also just found out that the hospital didn't charge a thing for Elise's care. Mr. Paul Coote talked to them, and they didn't charge anything at all.

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Obviously, Elise. Pray for strength and relief and rest. Continue to pray for the people in Ballygawley; leaving them today was rough on us all and we'll miss them greatly. Also pray for the people here in Kilmore as we all prepare for Holiday Bible Clubs starting Monday.